Circular-knitting machine.



R. W. GORMLY.

CIRCULAR KNITTINC MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED APR.28. 1914.

Patented N0v.1C, 1914.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

ftzzesses Rahm W @074,772

vani-ar R. W. GORMLY.

CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED APR.28, 1914.

1,1 17,032. Patented Nov, 10, 1914.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

Inventor ROBERT W. GORMLY, OF TROY, NEW YORK.

CIRCULAR-KNITTING MACHINE Specication of Letters Patent.

Application led April 28, 1914. Serial N o. 834,960.

To all lwhom t may concern:

Be it known that I, ROBERT W. GoRMLY, citizen of the United States, residing at Troy, in the county of Rensselaer and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Circular-Knitting Machines; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description `of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to letters or figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to improvements in circular knitting machines employing ordinary spring needles.

The object of my invention is to provide spring needle knitting machines for producing an elastic fabric having much of the appearance and many of the characteristics of` ribbed fabric.

According to this invention the spring needles are arranged in staggered relation and the bur wheels are constructed to cooperate with the needles so that rows of loops, which alternate with each other, according to the staggered' arrangement of the needles, are produced, making the surface of the cloth corrugated, so to speak, one row being higher and the other being lower, in relation to the mean surface of the cloth. The invention also comprehends improve- -ments in the details of construction and arrangement of parts which will be hereinafter described and particularly pointed out in the. claims.

Inthe accompanying drawings: Figure 1 is a plan view of aportion of a circular knitting machine illustrating my invention. Fig. 2 is yan enlarged face view of the fabric. Fig. 3 is a detail side elevation of a set of needles andthe base.- Fig. 3a is a plan view of the same. Fig. 4 is a' diagrammatic plan view of the operating parts. Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic side elevation of the parts shown in Fig. 4..

1 indicates the cylinder of a circular knitting machine and arranged around the upper surface and near the edge are the usual needle leads 2. Extending-upwardly from each lead are two spring needles 3 and4, one being set back farther than the other. Each spring needle is of the usual and :well known type, the beard 5 being clearly shown in Fig. 3. When the leads are assembled in the cylinder, the needles 3 and 4 form the staggered row of needles 6 and 7.

Mounted on a suitable support 8 and disposed atan angle to the needles, .is a bur wheel 9, the blades of which are alternately shortl and long coperate with the needles 3 and 4. In advance of and on the inside of the bur wheels and the needles is the usual push down wheel 10. Spaced from the bur wheel 9 and disposed so as to act on the outer surfaces of the needles is a presser wheel 12, formed with a series of shallow depressions 13 and an alternate series 'of deeper depressions 14, which engage respectively the beards of the staggered row of needles 4 and 3. Mounted on a support 15 inside the needles and coperating with the presser wheel 12, is an inclined landing wheel 16 which operates to land the' loops `over the beards in the usual manner. Spaced froln the landing .wheel 16 and operating inside the needles is an inclined cast off wheel 17, which casts the loops from the inwardly staggered needles in the formation of the fabric. Because of the staggered arrangement of the needles, I find it preferable to dispose an inclined cast off wheel 18 outside the row of needles, which casts the-loops from the outwardly staggered needles, which together with cast olf wheel 17 perform that function uniformly and evenly for the entire row of staggered needles.

In operation, the yarn 20 passes over a guide 21 to ythe `ends of the blades,A placing the yarn inside the beards of the needles, as clearly indicated in Fig. 5. Because of the staggered arrangement of the needles the yarn lies in a zigzag path inthe upper ends of the beards as 'shown in Fig. 4. During this time the` cylindercarrying the needles is revolved and the blades of the landingwheel lelevate the previously formed loops over the closed beards 5 of the needles, the beards being closed by the presser wheel 12.

.As previously stated, the presser wheel'is provided with two sets of notches, the walls of which act on the beards of both the in and out staggered needlesyto permit of the landing of the respective loops as indicated in Fig.. 5. V'Iheloops having been landed over the beards, the cast off .wheels'1'7 and 18 act to cast 'ol" the loops in the well known manner.

Obviously, since the blades of the lstitch wheel 9 are staggered, and the needles 6 and Patented Nov. 10, 1914. p

Yloo j 1,1 rasee 'l upon the cylinder l, with which the stitch Wheel 9 coperates, are also staggered, the result obtained in the fabric is rows of loops 30 and 3l, 'which alternate in and out in harmony with the staggered row of needles 6 and 7 and the staggered blades of the stitch Wheel 9, Which gives a ribbed edect on the face of the fabric and also produces extreme elasticity, as shown in Fig. 2 of the drawing. ln fact the finished product is to all intents and purposes substan' tiallya ribbed fabric produced With a single set of spring needles, which result is obtained' by staggering the needles and blades of the stitch Wheel.

Ais knitting machines employingspring needles and the operation of the same are so Well known, it is not thought necessary to describe specifically all the various steps 'of knitting, for the reason that my invention is directed primarily to the disposition of the spring needles and the various forms of Wheels coperating therewith. x

lt is Well known that by setting the stitch Wheel 9 in or ont the loops may be made longer or shorter as desired. 'llhen again it is not absolutely necessary that the needles be arranged alternately as shown and described, for they may be placed in alternate groups, according-to the design desired.

l-laving thus described .my invention, what l claim is l. A circular knitting machine, comprising a rotating ring, a plurality of stationary spring bearded needles arranged in zigzag forni in said rotating ring, means for feeding yarn to said needles, and Wheels coperating with the needles to knit fabric with rovvs of zigzag loops.

2. A' circular knitting machine comprising a rotating ring, a plurality of spring bearded needles, which are staggered intheir relative position With respect to each other, and Which are liexedtothe rotating ring, means for feeding yarn to the needles and means coperating with the needles to knit fabric formed with zigzagged loops.

3. A circular knitting machine comprising a rotatingring, a plurality of spring bearded needles, certain of said needles being arranged out of alinement With the adjacent needles, all said needles being tired to the rotating ring, means for feeding yarn to the needles, and means cooperating with the needles to knit fabric formed With alternate rows of loops.

l. A circular knitting machine comprising a plurality of spring bearded needles arranged in zigzag relation, a bur Wheel for feeding yarn to the needles, said bur Wheel having blades of different lengths to cooperate With the zigzagged needles, a presser Wheel'to engage the beards of the said needles in their zigzag relation with each other, a landing Wheel to coperate with the presser Wheel to elevate Athe loops over the beards of the needles, and a cast off Wheel to cast the loops from the needles.

5. A circular knitting machine comprisn ing a plurality of spring bearded needles, certain needles beingl staggered or displaced out of alinement with certain other of the needles, a bur Wheel having long and short blades to cooperate with the needles and feed yarn to the latter, a presser Wheel to close the beards of the needles, a landing Wheel to land the loops of yarn over the beards closed by the presser Wheel, and a cast od Wheel to elevate the loops from the needles.

A circular knitting machine comprising a plurality of spring bearded needles arranged in zigzag relation, a bur AWheel for feeding yarn to the needles., said bur Wheel having blades of different lengths to cooperate'with the needles, a presser Wheel to engage the beards of the needles, a landing `vvheel to coperate with the presser 'Wheel to elevate the loops over the beards of the needles, a cast oft' Wheelon the inside of the row of needles to cast off the loops from the instaggered needles, and a cast olf Wheel on the outside of the row of needles to cast off the loops from the outstaggered needles, or the loops Which have not been cast od" by the first mentioned cast od Wheel.

ln testimony whereof l have signed my name to this specication in the presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

ROBERT W. GORMLY. Witnessesf JOHN W'. Roesems, dai/ins el. Brenn. 

